Our Ash Wednesday worship was quite a contrast with last Sunday's Mardi Gras celebration during worship. Ash Wednesday and Mardi Gras Sunday are two opposite poles of our Christian experience-- the one somber and reflective, the other joyous and carefree. But isn't that just how life is? Don't we always live somewhere between the poles? Lately I've been hearing a lot about the discouragements and fears of people, about surgeries and illnesses and worries for the future. Even the cloudy weather has added its own dimension of darkness to our lives. Rather than curse the darkness, maybe we should greet it with anticipation as a time to 'lay low' and reflect on our lives. When we get to thinking that we have a problem bigger than ourselves, instead of falling into despair, we ought to look with expectation to God, pondering how God is going to help us out of something we can't handle on our own. The Ash Wednesdays of life lead us to trust more. The Mardi Gras Sundays are times of praise for what is. We need both.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
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